A harp is a stringed instrument that has a neck, a resonator, and strings. A harp's strings may be made of nylon, gut, wire, or silk and are positioned perpendicular to a soundboard.
Most European-derived harps have a single row of strings with strings for each note of the C Major scale. All F strings are black or blue and all C strings are red or orange. The harp rests between the knees of the harpist and along his/her right shoulder. The first four fingers of each hand are used to pluck the strings; the pinky fingers are too short and cannot reach the correct position without distorting the position of the other fingers. However, on some folk harps with light tension, and closely spaced strings, the pinky fingers may occasionally be used. Also, the pinky is not strong enough to pluck a string. Plucking with varying degrees of force creates dynamics. Depending on finger position, different tones can be produced. For example, a fleshy pluck (i.e. near the middle of the first finger joint) will make a warm tone, while a pluck near the end of the finger will make a loud, bright sound.
A pedal harp is large and technically modern. It is designed for classical music and played solo, as part of chamber ensembles, and in symphony orchestras.
The pedal harp uses the mechanical action of pedals to change the pitches of the strings. There are seven pedals, one for each note, and each pedal is attached to a rod or cable within the column of the harp, which then connects with a mechanism within the neck. When a pedal is moved with the foot, small discs at the top of the harp rotate. The discs are studded with two pegs that pinch the string as they turn, shortening the vibrating length of the string. The pedal has three positions. In the top position, no pegs are in contact with the string and all notes are flat. In the middle position, the top wheel pinches the string, resulting in a natural. And in the bottom position, another wheel is turned, shortening the string again to create a sharp.
Folk harps use levers or blades to change pitch. Folk harps with levers installed have a lever close to the top of each string. When the lever is engaged, the string is shortened so that its pitch is raised a semitone, resulting in a sharped note if the string was a natural, or a natural note if the string was a flat. Blades and hooks perform almost the same function as levers, but use a different mechanism.
This instrument has several unique features. The harp neck is designed so that the strings come from the center of the neck, eliminating the tendency for the neck to roll over to the left because of string tension. Since the pillar and soundboard do not need to be extra strong to accommodate this unbalanced tension, the whole instrument weighs far less than a comparable Irish harp.